A delicate topic, I understand, but one that I think fits the sword & sorcery oeuvre well. Given that they’re a dying race incompatible with other humans, would it be much of a stretch to posit that incestuous relations betwixt Hyperborean siblings are not uncommon? (I’m looking at you, Cersei and Jaime.)

I would say the backstab bonus applies only to the first of multiple attacks.

What I ended up going with was increasing skittishness in the rat familiar. When the magician first arrived at The Silvery Eel, the rat seemed a little agitated. Its anxiety became more pronounced as the party delved deeper. When they finally confronted the gnagana, the familiar failed a morale check and fled, depriving the magician of its bonus hit points. It did eventually return after the gnagana had been destroyed, because I didn’t want to screw a 1st-level PC too badly.

Here are a pair I whipped up a couple of years ago. Too, the formless spawn of Xathoqqua (included as a new monster in The Late Trapper’s Lament) are thought to originate from Saturn.

Ah, OK! The rebus principle does open up many more options. (I’d been thinking about American sign language, wherein English words without corresponding signs—like names—simply can be spelled out, but that technique only works when you have a phonographic alphabet to begin with.) Perhaps the name Xarthanos could be represented by the logograms for “donkey” and “immortal”. (Yes, he is literally an undying ass.)

Most cultures in Hyperborea use writing systems based on phonograms; each character represents a sound. Contrarily, the Ixians and subterranean Kimmerians of Krimmea use writing systems based on logograms; each character represents a word. How robust would these written languages be? Consider, for instance, the following player handout from Ghost Ship of the Desert Dunes (spoilers if you haven’t played it):


“My most puissant master, contained in this small bundle you will find the three magical devices you require. Know that Xarthanos is a distracted man; I believe he is unaware of you, his so-called ‘engineer’. However, the winged simian has a nose for those who would betray his master, so beware the brute. Once you have commandeered the skyship, I beg of you, please take me with you to Scythium, where I will ever serve you as loyal apprentice. Praise be the Lord of Serpents!”


If I were the Ixian author trying to commit this florid message to papyrus using logograms, could I possibly convey the full nuance, or would it read more like a telegram? “Master. Contained in small bundle you find three magic items you require...” and so on.

Thanks for the kind words, Caveman!

Blackadder23 wrote:

I would point out a couple of things. Firstly, Kthulhu isn't really a marine entity or sea god either. The text says he is associated with "sorcery, necromancy, deviltry, witchcræft, nightmares, madness, exhilaration, destruction, and havoc". Nothing particularly oceanic there. He is currently trapped beneath the sea, and he has marine servants due to his influence being concentrated there, but these associations with oceanic matters are just an accident of the current moment. The idea that Kthulhu is some kind of water elemental originated with Derleth's cockeyed pseudo-Catholic reinterpretation of the Lovecraftian mythos, His true environment, once freed, is the dark between the stars.

Secondly, the associations of Kraken are interesting: "extra-planar travel, outré dimensions, cosmic hunger, energy absorption, human sacrifice, time travel, illusion, duality, and reincarnation". One of these is especially interesting - why "duality" in particular? Now it's well known that Kthulhu exists in more than one dimension, which renders him impervious to physical destruction in our dimension (as memorably portrayed in "The Call of Cthulhu"). What if Kraken is that extradimensional manifestation of Kthulhu? That is to say, what if the two squid gods are simply two faces of the same Janus-like entity?  Kthulhu could even be seen as the "body" of this ultramundane entity, currently imprisoned beneath the sea, while Kraken is the "soul", currently locked away in another dimension. Could they ever reunite:? Do they even want to reunite? Interesting questions to contemplate in the dark...

Or maybe there really are just two somewhat similar squid gods. That's cool too.

Your post reminds me of a Cthulhu Now! adventure, “Dreams Dark and Deadly” (which I no longer own), that distinguishes betwixt the chorazin and eidolon of Cthulhu.

Here’s a quick abstraction I threw together for my players, who are enjoying some down time in Port Zangerios whilst some PCs are training and/or researching spells:

Gambling: For each day spent engaging in games of chance, choose a buy-in amount of 1–250 gp, and roll a d20 on the table below. (Anyone possessing a luckstone* gains a +1 bonus to the roll.)

d20 Roll     Result
natural 1     lose 100% of buy-in
   < 9          lose 50% of buy-in
   9–12        break even
   > 12        win 50% of buy-in
natural 20   win 100% of buy-in

*Such as the PC purloiner, in our case

Borne of actual campaign play, I propose a slight modification to the pale green IOUN stone. I think the +1 level benefit should improve hp, SV, FA, CA, TA, progressive thief abilities, spells per day, and so forth, but should not grant the possessor new class abilities or access to higher spell levels. I’m finding too many corner cases, like, “When my 3rd-level monk uses the stone, can he speak with animals? Can my 3rd-level fighter choose a new weapon mastery? Can my 4th-level pyromancer learn, memorize, and cast fireball?” I think it’s far easier to manage by simply saying, “You’re better at everything you already do, but you can’t do anything with the stone that you couldn’t do without it.”